Russia seeking to undermine American reputation in Afghanistan and South Asia region

Vastavam web: Russia is seeking to undermine American reputation in Afghanistan and South Asia region, a senior US official has said after Moscow termed President Donald Trump’s new strategy for Afghanistan as a ‘dead end’.”Well, I think that Russia’s reaction is very predictable. They’ve been starting some very unhelpful propaganda with regard the US role in Afghanistan. You’ve probably seen Russian officials trying to claim that the US is supporting ISIS in Afghanistan, which is a fictitious statement,” a senior administration official told reporters during a conference call.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had told reporters yesterday in Moscow that the new Afghan strategy is a “dead end”.

“Unfortunately, I think the Russians have taken a very tactical view here, and they are seeking to undermine our reputation in the region, and so false information about US objectives,” the official said.Explaining that the Afghan and South Asia strategy is not a military only strategy, the official said that this is a strong, diplomatic, political element, even economic element to the strategy.According to the official, the US thinks that they are genuinely concerned about Islamic State, and this is driving them to consider the support to the Taliban.